I'm Not Alright
by SuperGravyMan
Summary: Jade's been a bit off since breaking up with Beck, but perhaps things are starting to change for the better. Implied Jori. Jade's POV.
1. Chapter 1

I'm Not Alright

** This is the first time I've written any Jori stuff, even if it is fairly understated here. I have done some Cat/Tori work (The Blonde Squad Twisted) if you wanted to check that out though. Surprisingly I used Jade's POV there too, it just seems to work for me. I've actually been in semi-retirement from writing for a while, but I had a few ideas that wouldn't leave me be, so I guess you can call this a reunion tour. This one's based off the song I'm Not Alright by Shinedown. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and likely will not ever own Victorious or any of the characters therein. Man, that sucks...**

Jade West sat along the window sill of her creative writing class. She always enjoyed arriving to her first class after lunch as early as possible to sit there and think. On occasion she would even remain there after class had begun, finding that Mrs. Roberts didn't mind much either way as long as her work got done.

Jade found she'd had a lot of extra time to hang out in that window the past month, since she and Beck had broken up. At first, he'd been the main topic of her window thinking sessions. However, over the past few days Jade had noticed a distinct lack of his majestic fluff of hair running through her head. In fact, there had been a distinct lack of most any thoughts the past few days. Much of the time she found herself simply staring off towards the sun, drifting lazily within her own consciousness.

That was the case yet again today, until an outside force intervened. A paper airplane flew through the air, heading straight for the screen of the open window next to Jade's head. She started upon its impact, turning to find the pilot.

"Sinjin!" She yelled, "if one of your airplanes ever touches me, my scissors will be touching you, and they cut much easier than paper!"

The boy gathered his plane, sufficiently cowed for the time being, and Jade turned back to the window, finding her eyes drawn downwards this time, towards the vending machines, where one Tori Vega was struggling to purchase a bottle of water.

She smirked as the machine ate the other girl's dollar, being able to see the pout that was sure to come next in her mind. The smirk fell slightly as Vega's shoulders slumped and she turned, walking away clearly upset. Jade resolved to leave a replacement on her desk in the next class they shared, simply for the entertainment she'd unknowingly provided.

Soon after that, creative writing finally began, and Jade was forced to put those thoughts out of her mind, at least for a short while. As she exited the room, she found Beck waiting for her in the hallway outside.

"Hey, Jade." He said hesitantly, rubbing the side of his hair with his hand somewhat awkwardly.

"Beck." She nodded indifferently, walking past and leaving him hurrying to catch up.

"Look, I know you told me yesterday, but I just wanted to make sure you're really alright with me going out with Meredith. I know we're not together any more but it's only been a month, and I still care about you, you know?"

"Shh," she put a finger to his lips, "I'm fine, you can go on your little date with a clear conscience. I actually have a date of my own tonight."

"Really? Who with?" He asked, clearly surprised.

"None of your business, because we're not together any more, and don't have to share every little detail of our lives." She looked to him pointedly.

"Right, right. Moving on." He took the hint, backing away with his palms raised in surrender, always avoiding confrontation.

Jade smiled grimly, moving to her locker while considering where to spend her night out, as she knew Beck would still make a point of driving by her house on his date, just to make sure she was as fine with things as she said she was. For someone who seemed so cool with things in public, he'd always been somewhat clingy when they were together. It was likely one of the reasons they'd worked for so long, helping to mollify her strong jealousy.

There was simply nothing else going on, she told herself as she drove towards the Vega house. Tori was always her last resort, reliably there even when nothing else was. No cars were in the driveway, though she could see lights on in the living room, meaning the other girl was probably home alone, being the only one still lacking a driver's license.

The door handle turned easily in her hand, unlocked as always at the house she was almost surprised no one had robbed yet. Tori's father may have been a cop, but his family was far too reliant on that reputation for her tastes.

The sight that awaited her on the other side of the door made Jade feel like a different kind of intruder, happening upon a private moment for the other girl, though she found herself unable to move. Tori Vega had her back to her, a back currently lacking a shirt as she stood at the sink, washing dishes and singing along with the music coming from the living room.

Tori finally turned after placing the last of the silverware on a towel to dry and shrieked upon finding Jade there, still stunned. Jade's eyes were invariably drawn downward, towards Vega's dark red bra.

"Jade!" Vega shrieked again, covering herself with her arms as best she could, her hands still dripping with dish soap.

Jade blinked quickly, shaking her head to clear it. "Vega." She nodded in acknowledgment.

"I just- I mean, there was no one else home, and whenever I wear my shirt to do the dishes it always gets wet, but when I don't, I stay dry, and I'm not sure how it works, but it does, so-"

"Vega!" Jade interrupted, "You were babbling. You don't have to explain anything, I'm just gonna go." She trailed off, turning slowly to the door.

"Wait, Jade! Why did you come here?" Tori shouted at the door as it closed, thoroughly confused at the exchange that had taken place.

For her part, Jade had rushed to her car once the door shut, in the interest of getting away from the situation as quickly as possible. She had a feeling she was in for a long night with the way her mind whirled now.

The entire weekend ahead she avoided dealing with either Beck or the younger Vega, choosing instead to hang out at the park down the road she hardly ever went to, convincing herself she wasn't hiding.

However, come Monday at school she knew that they could be avoided no longer, even if that didn't stop her from trying. Jade skipped lunch completely, choosing instead to spend the entire period in her creative writing window, slowly sifting through her own feelings. It wasn't until the bell rang for the end of class that she realized just how far away her mind had taken her.

She climbed out of the window, smiling slightly distractedly at Mrs. Roberts as the older lady gave her an understanding nod. Jade grew even more distracted, wondering what her teacher could possibly know, when she was poked in the side of the head by a flying sheet of paper. She turned, seeing red.

"Sinjin!" She yelled, withdrawing scissors from seemingly out of nowhere. The strange boy's eyebrows flew into his curly hair in fear, and he turned quickly, rushing out of the classroom.

Jade gave chase through half of the school, his long legs keeping Sinjin always a turn ahead of her. She took a left at the next turn, seeing him take a right at the next turn ahead, hoping to cut him off so that she could cut parts of him off.

Her plan was foiled when she rounded the corner and nearly ran smack into Beck, who was gathering his things at his locker. She was gathering herself to take off around him again when he laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Woah, Jade, calm down a bit, what's going on?" He questioned.

"I'm going to kill Sinjin is what's going on!" She shouted back.

"Not on school property you're not, remember what Lane said the last time you took half of Robbie's hair off?" He reached for the scissors in her hand.

"Grrr..." She growled frustratedly, thrusting the scissors into his waiting palm, handle first. "Fine, but after school, the dweeb gets what's coming to him!"

"I'm sure he will." Beck answered placatingly. "Now how about we talk about why you've been avoiding me all day?"

Jade growled again, turning to walk away, but giving up when he turned her back around with the hand still on her shoulder. "I don't want to hear about your stupid date with stupid Meredith!"

"That's perfectly fine, I understand you don't want us to share absolutely everything any more, but we are still friends, you know. And as your friend, I wanted to ask you how your date with that unnamed guy went."

Jade's face scrunched in confusion for a second before she remembered what she'd told him Friday, her eyes roaming slightly in thought before landing on something over Beck's shoulder. It all came back quickly as she stared at Vega, who was laughing at something Andre had said just down the hallway. Sinjin had managed to drive it from her head for a time, but it seemed nothing could keep her mind off the other girl for long these days.

"Jade?" Beck snapped his fingers in front of her. "Are you alright?"

Jade shook her head to clear it for the second time that week, the memory of the previous time causing her to smile slightly. "You know, I don't think I am," she told him, "but maybe I like it that way." She walked off towards the way Tori had disappeared, leaving Beck standing confused behind her.

"Jade, wait!" He yelled. "What's going on?"

**And there you have it. A little shorter than I'm used to writing, but for the first thing I've written in a year and a half, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And if you wondered, I used to sit in the window every morning and do our dishes like that too. What can I say, it worked? I've got at least one more idea I want to get through, possibly more, so keep an eye out for that if you choose to do so. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the show, and I'll see you next time! Maybe leave a review, eh?**

**-SGM-**


	2. Ferris Wheel

Chapter Two

_Ferris Wheel_

** Quite a few of you seemed to think this story needed a bit more closure, so I've decided to give it to you. I also wanted to take this opportunity to wish a happy birthday to both my friend Natalie and my Broe last week (and my elementary school best friend today, though he'll never read this. Everyone I ever knew was born in July!). This chapter is based on a completely different song than the first, Ferris Wheel by Jason Jones. I hope you enjoy it equally as much, if not more!**

** Disclaimer: Second verse, same as the first.**

The Vega sisters both looked up confusedly as Trina pulled them into their driveway that Friday night. A sharp black car sat waiting for them, its owner leaning lazily against the door.

"Is that Jade?" Tori wondered aloud as they came to a halt. She poked her head out the window. "What are you doing here, Jade?"

"Get in the car, Vega." She nodded towards the passenger side door.

"With you? No way!" Trina squealed disgustedly.

"Wasn't talking to you, windbag." Jade shot back, giving her a slight glare before turning back to the younger sister as Trina took off for the house with a huff.

"Me?" Tori asked shakily, receiving another nod in return. "I dunno, after what happened last time-"

"You were perfectly safe!" Jade interrupted quickly, causing Tori to jump.

"My dad's a cop!" She shouted back, slightly panicking.

Jade took a deep breath, rolling her eyes. "Look, Vega," she said slowly, "I can't exactly surprise you with a trip to the carnival unless you get in the car, now can I?"

"The... carnival?" Tori blinked. Upon receiving yet another nod, her eyes lit up with an enthusiasm usually only seen from Cat as she rushed into the other car. A small smile touched Jade's face as she slid behind the wheel, before she turned on the radio and refused to answer any further questions until they'd arrived.

"Jade, you drove us all the way here, I can at least pay for my own ticket." Tori pouted, her money in hand.

The other girl took a deep breath and looked her in the eye, having trouble resisting the pout but knowing that this had to be serious. "That's not how dates work, Vega." She replied, using the moment the other girl froze to slip the ticket taker enough money for the both of them.

"A date?" Tori blinked. "That's what this is?"

"Unless you've got a problem with that?" Jade waved her ticket at her, trying to be firm but coming out more questioning.

Tori stepped back for a second, thinking, before her smile returned. "Of course not! We've already been on one, remember?" She turned and nearly skipped into the carnival with excitement, missing the other girl's sigh of relief behind her.

The youngest Vega never failed to have a good time at the carnival, and if anything, she was having an even better time trying to coax a smile out of her black clad escort. She tried all the games, and if she leaned forward over the ring toss a little more than usual to unnerve the other girl by making use of some of her so called 'assets', well it was all in good fun. And if Jade threatened the ring toss worker while Tori was in the bathroom (she was convinced that he too had admired some of the aforementioned 'assets') well then, at least she made sure her date got a worthy prize out of it, hurriedly setting the young man back on his feet and grabbing the large purple elephant just as Tori returned. His protest was silenced with a quick glare as Jade was dragged off towards the ferris wheel.

Space was tight in the small car, as Vega insisted on sitting the elephant next to her on the bench, causing her to have to nudge closer into the other girl's side. As they got to the top, her breath caught for a second at the beautiful view. The sun was just starting to set, and it felt as if she could see for miles.

"I think I can see my house from here!" She pointed out excitedly. When she didn't receive a response, her smile fell, being replaced with a slightly quizzical pout. Turning to see what was bothering her companion, it was a surprise to see Jade quickly look away, and Tori swore she could spot a slight blush on her pale friend's cheeks.

A mischievous smile came to her face at that realization, and as they started moving forward again, she pretended to be startled, curling herself more into Jade's side. When she looked up a moment later, she could see a small smile from the other girl, even as Jade muttered about her being a wuss. The lack of bite behind the comment brought an answering smile to her own face.

Soon after the ride ended, they were headed back to the car, as it was getting dark, and Vega's dad was a cop, like she had so helpfully reminded Jade earlier. The ride back to the Vega house was filled with a comfortable silence, the radio lightly bouncing along with some generic pop song in the background. Two other cars already filled the driveway, telling Tori her entire family was home. Still, Jade insisted on walking her to the door.

Just as they reached the step, the door opened, revealing Tori's father, a grin appearing on his face at the sight of his daughter. "Tori!" He exclaimed in that rumbling, overly excited voice all fathers seem to share around their children. His arms opened, and she fell into them for a second before stepping back towards Jade, who was awkwardly watching the exchange. "Did you ladies have a good time today?"

"We had a _great_ time, Daddy," Tori nearly sang with happiness, leaning back to give Jade a short kiss on the cheek, "Jade here treated me to a wonderful night at the carnival." She headed through the doorway, her father following to hear the rest of the story while Steve the purple elephant was given a home in her bedroom.

Jade was left standing in the open doorway until someone's voice shook her out of her shock. "Never pegged you for such a cliché date." She jumped a bit before noticing Trina on the couch, eyes glancing between her and some nonsensical talent show.

A hand rose toward her cheek, feeling the warmth still hanging around there as she answered. "Yeah, well, sometimes love is about making the other person happy, and that's what makes you happy," She glared in Trina's direction, "Tell anyone I said that and they'll never find your thumbs." But the other girl's attention was already back on her inane show, only a slight smile betraying her act of ignorance when Jade turned and left.

**Perhaps if you leave a review, National Lampoon will remake their classic film and turn Vegas Vacation into Vega's Vacation. It's worth a shot, eh?**

**-SGM-**


End file.
